Afghans: Marines broke humanitarian law in killing 12

Group says Americans fired at will, with women, children among victims

Associated Press

Published
5:30 am CDT, Sunday, April 15, 2007

Photo: RAHMAT GUL, AP

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

An Afghan man cries as he shouts anti-American slogans after a car bomber attacked an American convoy in Barayekab in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, in this March 4 file photo. A U.S. Marine unit broke international humanitarian law by using excessive force during a shooting spree last month that left 12 people dead, an Afghan human rights group said in a report Saturday. The troops shot indiscriminately at pedestrians, people in cars, public buses and taxis in six different locations along a 10-mile stretch of road in Nangahar province after an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into their convoy on March 4, according to the report. less

An Afghan man cries as he shouts anti-American slogans after a car bomber attacked an American convoy in Barayekab in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, in this March 4 file photo. A U.S. Marine unit ... more

Photo: RAHMAT GUL, AP

Afghans: Marines broke humanitarian law in killing 12

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — A U.S. Marine unit broke international humanitarian law by using excessive force during a shooting rampage last month that left 12 people dead, an Afghan human rights group said in a report Saturday.

The troops fired indiscriminately at pedestrians, people in cars, buses and taxis in six locations along a 10-mile stretch of road in Nangahar province after an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into their convoy March 4, according to the report by Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission.

Six people were killed near the blast site, the other six died on the road as the troops sped away, said Ahmad Nader Nadery, the group's spokesman.

The dead included a 1-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and three women, the report said. Thirty-five people were wounded in the shootings.

"In failing to distinguish between civilians and legitimate military targets the U.S. Marines Corps Special Forces employed indiscriminate force," the report said. "Their actions thus constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law standards."

The group said its report was based on interviews with victims and their families, witnesses, local community leaders, hospital officials and police.

A U.S. military commander also has determined that the Marines used excessive force and referred the case for possible criminal inquiry, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday.

U.S. military officials said later that the suicide attack was part of an ambush that included militant gunmen shooting at Marines, which may have caused some civilian deaths.

The human rights group's report said "there is some evidence at the immediate site of the incident to support this claim, but it is far from conclusive and all witnesses and Afghan government officials interviewed uniformly denied that any attack beyond the initial (suicide car bombing) took place."

The group also alleges that U.S. troops serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force in southern Afghanistan returned to the area after the bombing for an investigation and a cleanup operation, which involved the removal of all bullet shells and cartridges.